1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to housings, and particularly, to a housing used in electronic devices, and a surface treating method for making the housing.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
In recent years, there has been an increase in demand for portable electronic devices, such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), mobile phones, MP3 players and MP4 players. To make the portable electronic devices more physically appealing, the housings of the portable electronic devices may be decorated to have different appearances.
Generally, housings that exhibit metallic appearances are prepared by a metal. However, the metal has relatively high chemical activity, thus when the portable electronic device is used, the metallic housings are prone to being oxidized and corroded, thereby causing the appearance of the housings to degrade. Furthermore, a softness of the metallic housings made of metal is relatively low-grade, thus the metallic housing may not feel rigid to a user.
To enhance a softness of the metallic housings, and prevent the metallic housings from being oxidized or corroded, generally a transparent layer is coated on a surface of the metal to form an outer layer. The outer layer may improve the softness of the housing, and to protect the metal to a certain extent and for a certain time. However, after a relatively long time, the outer layer would break off from a surface of the metallic housings, thus the appearance of the housings is seriously influenced.
Therefore, a new housing and surface treating methods for making the housing are desired in order to overcome the above-described shortcomings.